The Secretary in the Letters of Paul

The Amanuensis Hypothesis in New Testament Scholarship: Its Origin, Evidential Basis, and Application

“…Objections have focused especially on the method by which Richards attempts to demonstrate his case. One concern frequently voiced by critics is that Richards’ reconstruction of secretarial activity relies too heavily on the letters of Cicero (Arzt 1991: 235; Penna 1992: 286; Betz 1992: 619; Weima 1992: 301; Prior 1996: 87-88). Given the numerous differences between Paul and Cicero (e.g., geographic location, language, economic class, etc.…”

“…But more than just applicability, the representative nature of this evidence has also been called into question. As noted by one reviewer, the ‘danger’ of such a procedure ‘is that a particular use of a secretary could be singular to Cicero and thus be misleading for a comparison with Paul’ (Weima 1992: 301; cf. Richards 1991: 13 n. 69 where this possibility is acknowledged and where further attestation outside of Cicero’s letters is prescribed).…”